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Adams County early education program uses play therapy to connect kids

By Megan MitchellYourHub Reporter

Posted:
04/09/2014 01:48:38 PM MDT

Updated:
04/09/2014 10:46:30 PM MDT

Two little girls dressed in bright pink shirts sat together at a preschool-sized table in the corner of their classroom. They had a beaker of baking soda, an eye dropper loaded with pink paint and a jar of water. They set to mixing and experimenting

"Do you guys know what it means to dissolve something?" asked their teacher, Kate Murphy. "What happens when you add water to baking soda?"

The girls looked at each other, then at the beaker of fizzing pink froth they were concocting.

"I'm making pink," said Emily, a 4-year-old with curly blond hair and eyes as big as dinner plates.

Kate Murphy helps her student, Emily A., 5, make a card for her uncle April 3 during class at the Children's Outreach Project in Denver. (Anya Semenoff, YourHub)

The girls were in the science corner of their classroom earlier this month at the Children's Outreach Project, a nonprofit early education program for at-risk kids who are between 3 and 6 years old. The school serves about 75 students from all over Adams County and prepares them for primary education in the Adams 12 School District.

"Our key demographic is low social-economic status, and families that are vulnerable," said Danielle Meir, program director at the outreach project. "With that often come developmental delays, so we have two therapists who work with the children who show signs" of those delays.

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The outreach project uses a play-based therapy and education model. That means every classroom in the building at 8000 Pecos St. in Denver is loaded with learning toys and hands-on stations devoted to things like science, math, dramatic play, literacy, manipulative skills and sensory education.

Teachers and therapists work with their students and observe what kind of motor or speech problems the children might exhibit. Many times students don't need any form of therapy, but the low-cost and daylong hours suit the needs of busy parents. The school is open from 6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

The Children's Outreach Project has been in operation since the 1970s. It moved into its current building — which is whimsically shaped like the top of a mushroom — in 1986.

"Any student who is even showing a mild delay can receive therapy services, because we know early intervention can reduce the need for special education in schools," Meir said. "Even if they don't need a speech therapist, children do better in the context of healthy relationships and interactions."

The school employs a fulltime occupational therapist and a speech pathologist who work with students every day to encourage healthy motor development and coordination. The outreach project has the highest ranking through Qualistar — a rating system that measures child-care programs in Colorado.

Therapy services incur no additional tuition for parents who are already paying for the school primarily through grant assistance programs like the Colorado Preschool Program, the Denver Preschool Program and scholarships offered through the Children's Outreach Project.

Alisha Williams, development associate at the school, said it is transitioning to billing Medicaid for therapy students who qualify (while not excluding children who do not qualify).

"We're really working on ways to close the funding gap this year through things like more grant writing and building business and corporate sponsorships," Williams said.

She said the outreach project will nix its summer program this year so that staff will have time for strategic planning for funding and program reinvention. The school's annual fundraising breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. May 16 at the school.

"There are plans for more renovation and expanding services," Williams said. "We just have to get more resources and partners to meet our goals to serve these kids."

Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, or mmitchell@denverpost.com

Marlene P., 4, plays with ®stra R., also 4, at a water table filled with bubbles during activity time at the Children's Outreach Project. The school is a nonprofit that provides therapy, education and daycare to children between 2-6 years old who have developmental delays like moderate Down syndrome and speech impediments. (Anya Semenoff, YourHub)

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